After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

"Old man, smoking with a cigarette butt that isn’t extinguished can lead to trouble if you toss it in the trash bin at home!"

"We know, we know, you told the last guy who got a haircut! We all remember!"

"Good, and the last time? What did I talk about?"

"Talked about... earthquakes, fires, don’t take the elevator! Use the stairs!"

Fang Huai beamed with joy, "Eh, that’s right! If you remember this knowledge and can tell me three points when you come next Wednesday, I’ll treat you to big buns from the shop across the street!"

"Oh, this firefighter lad is really nice! Don’t worry, we’ve all remembered! Next time I come for a haircut, I’ll treat you to buns!"

"Right! We can all recite it now, next time we come, give us a few different ones to memorize!"

Fang Huai burst into hearty laughter, holding the clipper up high and shouted, "When you spot a fire or are trapped by a disaster, who do you call?"

The surrounding old men and old ladies chorus together, "119!"

Only the old man getting his haircut worriedly said, "Young man, watch my head!"

...

He cut 36 heads in the morning.

There were even more people getting their blood pressure and blood sugar tested—the 100-pack of disposable blood lancets was over one and a half boxes down.

Indeed, they discovered an old lady who had just finished breakfast with a blood sugar level over 20, and her spouse took her to the hospital for a check-up.

The stall packed up at noon.

But Fang Huai stayed with the First Squadron until the afternoon meal.

The reason was that Captain Huang Yi of the First Squadron was a bit skeptical and brought Fang Huai into the squadron to see if Fang Huai was really that miraculous.

Fang Huai had been cutting hair for half the day and had gained some experience. He said that Huang Yi had a rather three-dimensional face that didn’t suit too flat a top and would look better with a crew cut.

Captain Huang said he had a birthmark on the top of his head and usually feared the barber might nick it, so he was accustomed to leaving a patch of hair there.

Fang Huai said it wasn’t a problem. "A crew cut it is, then. I’ll leave the top thicker for you. Trust me."

By the time he finished the crew cut and shaved off the beard,

Captain Huang was ten times handsomer.

Looking into the mirror, Captain Huang was deeply convinced by Fang Huai.

And he made a phone call to Cao Yi, planning to occupy Fang Huai for half a day.

In an afternoon, the entire Special Duty Squad sported the work of Fang Huai’s hands.

If it weren’t for Fang Huai’s exceptional recovery abilities, just working like this for a day, doing dozens of heads, would have floored any seasoned hairdresser, making them collapse and demand a raise from their boss.

As the slanting sun cast its glow, Old Teacher He was stirred.

For the first time, Fang Huai touched the head of a deputy regiment commander.

After the haircut, Master He took out a pack of Hard Zun cigarettes from a pouch, thought better of it, and from another pocket produced a pack of China cigarettes, usually saved for leaders, and offered one.

"You smoke?"

Fang Huai shook his head, "No."

"You said yesterday, which days you normally come over?"

"Wednesday mornings."

"Wait for me next Wednesday at noon. I’ll bring my son over for you to give him the same buzz cut. From now on, my son’s and my haircuts are in your hands!"

Fang Huai:...

Private Fang Huai, forever the Instructor’s...

...

The First Squadron took him home, and by then it was dark.

As Fang Huai returned to the squad, seeing the squadron members happily greeting him with the hairstyles he had crafted, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

A little skill exchanged for military merit points in the system brought his comrades and residents so much convenience, making him feel the joy of helping others.

And the true value of military merit.

Earn more military merit points, because the more he thought about it, the more things he wanted to learn.

Firefighting skills, higher education to pursue graduate studies, knowledge needed for entrance exams, medical first aid to save more lives, culinary arts, and maybe learning to play the piano or saxophone to enhance life’s pleasures...

That night, as Fang Huai slept, he dreamed.

He dreamt of playing a saxophone rendition of "Casablanca" for Yang Shaoqing by the seaside.

He dreamt of a figure, backpacked, walking into the sunset.

...

"Hmm..."

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

The sound of bare feet hitting the floor echoed throughout the entire building.

"What emergency?!"

Fang Huai suddenly stood up, turned on his watch, and saw it was 11:30 P.M.

"Just need the Rescue Team! Child jumping off a building!"

A child jumping off a building?

Fang Huai was a bit stunned.

At this time of night... studied too late, driven to despair?

"I’m coming too!" Fang Huai shouted, running downstairs.

Fang Hongliang turned his head to look at him and nodded, "Alright, Little Fang, you ride with us."

Members of the Special Duty Squad watching Fang Huai dash downstairs couldn’t help but smile.

Sometimes it’s really hard to tell if this kid is an old soldier or a new recruit.

Getting excited at the sound of an alarm, that’s the mark of a rookie for sure.

But for these old soldiers, if the emergency wasn’t theirs to handle, they could only feel relieved.

"Back to the room, go to sleep!" Little Black said with a laugh.

...

The alarm bell rang loudly in front of a row of small multi-story buildings on the street.

Even upon arriving at the scene, the Command Center hadn’t called Ye Jiahong, who was leading the team, to explain the specifics of the situation, and they couldn’t get through to the person who called the police, so they had to get out of the vehicle and search for the location based on the address given in the dispatch.

5th floor.

For a child, this floor was undoubtedly a height with a high probability of death.

But the night was so quiet, they didn’t hear any voices of persuasion, and on the front side of the building, on the fifth floor, there was nobody at the windowsill.

Everyone quickly located the apartment number upon reaching the floor.

The door was ajar, and as Fang Huai approached, he smelled a strong scent of cigarette smoke.

And the aroma of instant noodles.

This was a sensation he knew all too well, it was his happy place before he turned 18.

"It’s an underground internet cafe." Fang Huai said.

As he spoke, he pushed the door open and entered the room.

Fang Hongliang, who was hesitating about whether to enter directly, chuckled, "The young ones really do understand."

Inside, it was very quiet. A small living room housed 12 computers. Several side rooms had even been turned into private booths.

In front of the 12 computers, there was not a soul to be seen. The atmosphere was eerie, and even Fang Huai walked carefully, afraid of stumbling upon some gruesome scene.

"I told you to go through B tunnel, you idiot! A Gate is swarming with police!" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

A roar followed by the sound of keyboard smashing suddenly blared from one of the booths.

Fang Huai let out a sigh of relief.

There was no tragedy, but from the sounds of it, in the CS Game happening inside the booth, the terrorists were indeed losing their heads one by one.

Sounds immediately came from the adjacent room:

"I told you to keep it down! Hurry up and leave after this match!"

"Why should I leave? I paid!" the same young voice yelled back.

"Then can you not shout, please?"

"Heh, it’s not like it’s my own kid! Very funny!"

The firefighters looked at each other.

With no more hesitations, Fang Huai called out loudly, "Is the boss around? Come out for a bit, who called the police?"

Inside, it became chaotic, and several people ran out of two rooms.

From the gaming room, a young guy darted past Fang Huai, ready to make a run for it.

Fang Huai could tell he was far from 18 and grabbed him at once.

"Are you of age? Come on, inside!" Fang Huai barked, and then he saw the panic on the boy’s face, which gave him a sense of satisfaction.

Wasn’t it said that A Gate was full of police?

Now that the police have arrived, why aren’t you running?